Bolingbrook police investigating 2 attempted abductions

Bolingbrook police said today they are investigating two incidents this week in which female students reported that a man tried to grab or abduct them as they walked home from Bolingbrook High School.

Investigators suspect the incidents are related, according to a news release from the Police Department.

The first incident occurred about 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, when a 16-year-old girl reported that a man approached her as she walked near Radcliff Drive and Old Stone Road -- a short walk from the school -- and tried to grab her and pull her into his vehicle, police said.

A bystander saw the girl struggling with the man and yelled at him, prompting the man to get in his vehicle and drive away, police said.

The girl went home and told a parent what happened, police said. The parent then called 911.

The second incident occurred about 2:10 p.m. Thursday, when a man followed a different 16-year-old girl who was walking home from school into an apartment building in the 300 block of Woodcreek Drive, also a short walk from the school.

The man grabbed the girl from behind as she entered a second-floor hallway, but the girl fought him off and he ran away toward nearby Plimmer Park, police said.

The suspect in Tuesday's incident was driving what appeared to be a blue, late-1990s Ford Explorer, police said.

Valley View School District 365U posted an alert about the incidents on its website today.

"Please remind your children to not talk to strangers when they are walking to and from school," the alert says. "If a stranger does approach your children, they should not talk to him or go with him. Tell your children to report any suspicious adults to you, their teacher, or the office."